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Communications Before, During, and After

Superstorm Sandy

26th Annual E Source Forum September 17–20, 2013

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Today’s Discussion

• The Storm

• Preparations

• Impact

• Restoration

• Communications Best Practices

• Post-Sandy Communications

Superstorm Sandy An Unprecedented Event

• Largest Atlantic storm on record, spanning 800 miles in diameter

• More than 8.5 million power outages across 21 states

• Sustained winds reached 64 mph at LaGuardia Airport with peak gust of 90 mph on Staten Island

• Storm tide recorded at the Battery – 14.06'

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Storm Preparations

• Deployed thousands of personnel to work 24/7

• Communicated safety information through press releases, Web updates, and an e-mail blast to 1.3 million customers

• Contacted customers who use life-sustaining equipment, and critical-care facilities to warn of possible service outages

• Secured initial deliveries of dry and wet ice in anticipation of significant customer outages

• Activated Corporate Coastal Storm Plan

• Established Corporate Emergency Response Center (CERC) – Enables high-level communication between Con Edison

departments and governmental agencies

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Storm Preparations E-mail Blast

Storm Impact Exceeded Expectations and Set Records

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Storm Impact

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Storm Impact

Courtesy: MTA

• Subway and ferry service disrupted for days

• LIRR, NJ Transit, MetroNorth service disrupted for weeks

• JFK, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty airports closed for days

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Storm Impact Transportation

Both photos courtesy: MTA

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Storm Impact Extensive Damage to Con Edison Equipment

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Restoration Storm-Response Videos

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Restoration Communications

• Outreach to customers, elected officials, city agencies, municipalities, regulators and media

• Call centers handled more than 1.2 million calls

• Company made nearly 1.4 million calls

• Daily press briefings

• Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke participated in 3 mayoral press briefings

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Restoration Communications Results

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Restoration Communications Results

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Restoration Social Media Communications

• @ConEdison Twitter gained 16,000 followers during Sandy

• 25 videos that Con Edison posted during the storm received over 100,000 hits

• Images posted to Flickr during the storm received over 140,000 hits

• Con Edison’s use of social media during Sandy earned several PR industry awards

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Restoration What Media Said About Our Communications

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Communication Best Practices What We Did Well

• Social media – tweeted restoration and safety information; engaged in online conversations

• Videos – posted online for customers, sent to employees, sent to elected officials

• Quickly responded to YouTube video – be flexible

• Rumor control

• Daily conference calls with elected officials

• Prepared narrative immediately after storm

• Pushing to remain part of the bigger picture/conversation

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Communications Best Practices What We’ve Done Since Sandy

• Research

• Fortifying the Future – branded system improvements plan

• Give presentations at a wide variety of conferences

• TV, radio, print digital advertisements about system improvements

• Media tours

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Communications Best Practice How We Restore Power

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Communications Best Practice Advertisements

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Communications Best Practice Advertisements

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Communications Best Practice Advertisements

Communications Best Practices Press Events

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Communications Best Practices Press Events

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• County map shows entire county’s outages, ETRs, customers in each municipality

• Remainder of dashboard is municipality specific

• Muni maps shows dry ice and outreach van locations

• Icons distinguish critical locations, e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, sewer /water pump stations

• Muni job details table shows road closure tickets as well as impacts to schools and critical locations

• Muni officials can find out specific ticket info: customers affected by outage, number of calls, feeder source

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Communications Best Practices Muni Dashboard for Westchester County

Communications Best Practices Muni Dashboard for Westchester County

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• Improve communication channels with municipal officials

Communications Best Practices Muni Job Details Page

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Communications Best Practices What We’ve Done Since Sandy

• Introduce new mobile app – allowing customers to pay bill

– report/check the status of an outage

– submit a meter reading

– get tips on gas/steam/CO safety

• Offer text messages with storm preparation information, safety tips, and outage updates

• Expanding social media communications

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• Twitter and Facebook primary channels

• Address individual customer inquiries through personal messages

• Post good news, i.e. volunteer work, promote ebill

• Share highlights of press releases and links to full reports

• Promote our nonprofit partners

• Thank fans and followers for sharing our content

• Educate about safety issues, e.g., storms, scams, gas hazards, how to contact us in emergencies

Communications Best Practices Social Media Strategy - Listen, Inform, Engage

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Communications Best Practices Social Media Strategy - Listen, Inform, Engage Facebook homepage

Twitter homepage

Communications Best Practices Our Conversations During Sandy

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Communications Best Practices Our Conversations Post-Sandy

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Communications Best Practices Maintaining Engagement on Social Media

• Contest lived on Facebook, cross-promoted on Twitter

• Goal: Keep Fans, Grow Likes

• More than doubled our Facebook fans

• Promote our nonprofit partners

• Reshape perception of company: show friendly side

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